The Sky is Falling
by TheMadeline
Summary: The Titan's Curse, Annabeth's POV.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

I woke to a pounding in my head. My hand reached automatically upwards, probing a large, throbbing lump that was beginning to form near the back of my skull. Dr. Thorn was nowhere to be seen. I picked myself up off the rocky ground. _Mountain_, I corrected myself. I was definitely near the top of a mountain, though it was so foggy, I could barely tell. I began to climb.

Littered about on the iron-gray rock, were what appeared to old, Grecian columns made of what probably once was white marble. They looked as if they'd been blasted out from whatever building they'd once been a part of. It was a shame; you could almost see what beautiful architecture it was. I kept climbing.

From very nearby, I heard a noise like a growl. I shrank into the shadows, reaching instinctively to my back pocket. My Yankees cap wasn't there. Cursing under my breath, I realized I must have left it back at Westover Hall with Percy and Thalia. I wondered vaguely if they'd made it back to camp safely with the di Angelos.

"Thorn!" I cried desperately, searching the curling fog for any sign of his hideous figure, "Where are you? Why did you bring me here?" Silence, except for the faint growling noise.

As I neared the peak of the mountain, I could hear the growling noise more clearly. I noticed that it wasn't a growl at all, it was breathing. Labored and shallow breathing. Oddly familiar breathing.

I heaved myself over the jagged stone remains of a wall and gasped. Through the swirling mist, I saw a dark figure, its frame shaking violently, nearly crushed by the weight of what seemed to be the sky itself. _Atlas_, I told myself, but I knew deep down that it wasn't. I knew that figure. The stocky build, the way the legs were braced. It was Luke.

It's a trick. These words raced through my mind the second I recognized him. I knew Luke was on Kronos' side. He'd tried to kill me countless times before, but somehow I knew that he was still Luke inside, and if I could just make him see how wrong he was... Another shudder racked his broken figure. He was shaking with exertion.

I had to slap my hands over my mouth to stop myself from calling his name. _Stupid_, I thought, _it could be a trap_. But still, he looked so tortured and helpless. He was alert now, he looked around frantically.

"Annabeth!" he choked, meeting my eyes, "Help me! Please!" I ran to him. His face was bloody, drenched in sweat, and contorted with agony. I reached out my hand to touch his face, but hesitated. I could have sworn I'd just heard Percy's voice in my head, reminding me Luke was a traitor.

"What happened?" I asked, tears streaming down my face. I could barely keep my voice from trembling.

"They left me here," Luke groaned, beginning to hyperventilate. "Please. It's killing me." I remembered Percy's warning.

"Why should I trust you?" I asked, skeptically, my eyes narrowing with mistrust. I wanted so desperately to have him back, but I knew what he'd turned to.

"You shouldn't," Luke said, gasping, another shudder seizing his body. "I've been terrible to you. But if you don't help me, I'll die." He began to wheeze, his breath transforming into curling, ghostly white fingers of vapor that snaked towards the moon before vanishing onto the night. I didn't know what to do. Luke's body was slowly crumpling to the ground. There was only so much more time he could stand it before he was crushed to death under the velvety darkness. Luke was doubled over now, struggling as hard as he could, but I knew he was at the limits of his strength. At the last minute, I scrambled forward, forcing the weight away from Luke and into my own hands.

The pain was instant and the weight was crushing. Every muscle in my body was screaming in agony. My vision blurred and turned red at the corners. I cried out, struggling fiercely. Luke rolled out from under it, gasping and panting like a dog, on his hands and knees.

"Thanks," he managed between breaths of the cold, mountain air.

"Help me hold it," I rasped, my voice sounding pinched inside me, like it too was being crushed by the weight. I was being pressed against the rocky summit. My arms shook violently. I couldn't breathe properly, my knees threatened to buckle any second.

"I knew I could count on you." he said, ignoring my plea. I couldn't help but notice how he didn't quite meet my eyes as he said that, like he still had an ounce of humanity somewhere inside of him. Luke turned his back on me and began to walk away.

"HELP ME!" I screamed at him, I heard the pleading in my own voice as the blackness above threatened to crush me. Tears of anger and pain streamed down my face.

"Oh, don't worry," Luke said. "Your help is on the way. It's all part of the plan. In the meantime, try not to die." He grinned wickedly and stalked off, leaving me alone in the darkness, my stomach twisting in anger and betrayal, trying to support the weight if the sky on my shoulders.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

It didn't get any easier. In fact, it got much worse. The night seemed to last an eternity, every second stretched into an hour. It seemed the exertion wasn't just draining my strength and energy, it felt like it was draining my very soul. I couldn't think properly. My mind seemed incapable of thought. All I knew was the pain.

I held the sky for the entire day. As the inky darkness began to devour the the last golden rays of sun, this was the only thought my exhausted mind could produce. _I'd spent an entire day holding the sky_. I felt hysteria bubbling up in my throat, but found I didn't have the strength to laugh. I felt myself beginning to become delirious from hunger and sleep deprivation. _No_, I told myself, _keep it together! _I felt weak. My arms seemed to have been turned to jelly, and I knew I couldn't take it much longer, but I knew I had to.

From somewhere nearby, I heard heavy boots pounding on the mountain, followed by a sound like the clanking of chains. I didn't have the will to raise my head. My entire body was trembling uncontrollably.

"How is our mortal guest?" The horrible, sarcastic, booming voice seemed to have come out of nowhere, but I was too tired to be startled. I weakly picked my head up to find the source, and my eyes locked on a man whom I recognized immediately as Atlas. I let my head drop helplessly, my pale hair falling into my eyes. I was surprised to find it streaked with gray, but I couldn't find the strength to care. Luke came running towards me. He knelt at my side and gently brushed my hair away from my forehead. He looked me critically in the eyes. I felt anger building up inside my head. My jaw clenched, and my stomach writhed with anger. I avoided his calm, blue-eyed gaze. Luke glanced back at Atlas.

"She's fading. We must hurry." he said. I could hear the note of concern that had crept into his voice. Why did he even pretend he cared? How _dare_ he? What did he care if I died because of his actions? It was all his fault. The irony was sickening. Sweat poured down my face, I gritted my teeth. _I can do this,_I told myself. I sucked in a deep breath. I was still shaking.

A pair of _dracaenae_ emerged from the shadows behind Atlas, each clutching the upper arm of a young girl. The _dracaenae_ would have been beautiful women, except for their legs. Thick, green, scaly snake tails sprouted from their hips, writhing like they had minds of their own. They roughly shoved the girl to the ground a few feet in front of me. I looked up and gasped, my eyes widening in horror. It was Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, and she was in a terrible state. Her silver dress was in tatters, her wrists and ankles bound by celestial bronze chains, a metallic, golden substance was seeping from the wounds on her face and arms. Her lovely, auburn hair falling in her eyes. She looked tired and beaten, but somehow not yet defeated.

"You heard the boy," said Atlas cruelly, sneering at Artemis's weakened state. "Decide!" Artemis glared at Atlas, but her anger dissolved when she laid eyes on me, it was replaced with total outrage. She looked back at Atlas with an accusing stare. I shuddered involuntarily. My legs threatened to collapse.

"How dare you torture a maiden like this!" Artemis cried angrily, her chains clanking as she gestured in my direction.

"She will die soon," Luke said. I refused to believe him. I _refused_ to die. I couldn't die, leaving the fate of Olympus on Percy's impulsive shoulders. I needed to be alive to help defeat the titans. "You can save her." I tried to cry out in protest, but it came out as a small, pitiful moan. I couldn't let Artemis take the burden, the hunters needed her.

"Free my hands," Artemis commanded, her chin held high. It was amazing that she could seem so in control and dignified in such a diminished state. Luke unsheathed his horrible sword, Backbiter, half bronze, half steel. A weapon to be used against mortals, half bloods, or monsters, a weapon that shouldn't exist. It made a horrible sound in the silence. Artemis looked Luke straight in the eye as he stalked forward slowly, crunching gravel under his boots. Luke raised his sword and broke the cuffs with a single swing.

Artemis rushed forward, reaching out her hands and lifting the sky from my shoulders, gasping at the weight. I just collapsed into a crumpled, shivering heap. That was all I could do. I heaved and spluttered, my entire body turned to mush. I was so exhausted and starving. I realized that what Artemis had done, though noble, hadn't accomplished anything at all. _They're going to kill me anyway,_ I thought, _I'm not useful to them anymore_. Atlas laughed, a low, booming, mocking laugh.

"You are as predictable as you were easy to beat, Artemis." he said, sneering at her.

"You surprised me," she gasped, trembling under the weight. "It will not happen again." she said, almost threateningly, in a tone that implied that Atlas was lucky he had tricked her at all.

"Indeed it will not," said Atlas cruelly. "Now you are out of the way for good! I knew you could not resist helping a young maiden. That is, after all, your specialty, my dear." He grinned wickedly, mocking Artemis.

"You know nothing of mercy, you swine." she spat at him angrily, clenching her jaw in pain.

"On that," said Atlas, clearly enjoying himself, "we can agree. Luke, you may kill the girl now." I knew I couldn't fight them, I could barely support my own weight anymore, let alone try to run.

"No!" shrieked Artemis, shaking with anger and exertion. I tried to pull myself up, but I was too weak. Luke started towards me, but stopped, pondering something. He turned to Atlas.

"She—she may yet be useful, sir... Further bait." Luke said slowly, as if still thinking it through. The blood drained from my face, he was right. I knew Percy and his fatal flaw. He would come for me, I was sure. I had to stop him somehow.

"Bah! You truly believe that?" huffed Atlas.

"Yes, General. They will come for her. I'm sure." Luke knew it too. I felt like my insides were being eaten out. This was bad. Atlas looked like he was contemplating, I didn't know which to hope for.

"Then the _dracaenae _can guard her here. Assuming she does not die from her injuries, you may keep her alive until winter solstice. After that, if our sacrifice goes as planned, her life will be meaningless. The lives of _all _mortals will be meaningless." I didn't know whether to sigh with relief or cry with despair. Percy would come, and then he would die. Luke gathered me into his arms. Under the circumstances, I knew I should be filled with terror, but I somehow felt safe in his arms, even though I knew I couldn't be more wrong. That was when I blacked out.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

CLANK! The loud, metallic boom ripped my eyelids open, jolting me awake. Stealthy rays of winter sun like molten gold poured in, flowing around the dull, rusty bars embedded in the mouth of the cave. _Bars? _I did a double take. My memory came flooding back. My hand went instinctively to my left forearm. Finding the familiar shape of my celestial bronze knife, still strapped in place, I took a deep breath. They hadn't bothered to disarm me. I realized that every part of my stiff body ached, and every movement tugged painfully at my limp muscles, so I just lay there, on the ground. A figure on the other side of the bars threw a black shadow over the gray rock, whatever it was, it had opened the narrow door fixed to the bars, letting it slam against the wall of the cave.

_Sssssshe awakesssssssssssss _rasped a voice in a hoarse, hissing whisper. Another shadow passed between the sun and the bars. I slowly turned my head, grimacing, to find a pair of _dracaenae _standing outside my makeshift prison, their faces expressionless, their icy green eyes staring blankly at me.

_Give the girl her rationsssssssss_said the other one, _Sssssshe'sssss usssselessss to ussss dead. _Half a loaf of stale-looking bread was tossed at me, landing in the dirt, followed closely by a dusty water bottle. The _dracaenae _turned and walked away, with a sound like snakes slithering through dirt. I sat up, my head was spinning, how long had I been out? A few hours? A whole day? I had no idea. I stood up, my legs still felt weak and shaky, but I could walk better than I had expected.

I bent over to pick up the bread. Yep, it was stale all right. I tore off a chunk anyway, it wasn't like I expected any better. I was a prisoner, after all. It was only now that I realized how hungry I was- I hadn't eaten or drunk anything for two or three days. I wondered how I hadn't noticed any symptoms of starvation or dehydration. I suspected the gods had something to do with it.

I finished the meager meal quickly and walked up to the bars. I wrapped my pale fingers around them and shook furiously. They were completely solid, like they'd always been here, yet there were small piles of dust surrounding the bases of the metal rods, suggesting they had been recently installed. I sighed, this information wouldn't help at all, I just needed to solve a problem right now, a compulsion that probably resulted from a combination of me being a daughter of Athena, and my ADHD. I gave myself a little shake, I was doing it again.

I pressed my face to the bars, straining to see my surroundings. It looked like it was mid-morning, perhaps 10:00 am. The sun was burning brightly in front of me, and I remembered watching the sunset the night before. I knew I was facing east, on the opposite side of the mountain.

I slumped down in the corner of the damp cave, finally letting the hopelessness of my situation sink in. Percy and the others were heading straight into a trap and here I was, unable to stop them, captured and betrayed by the person I had spent part of my childhood fighting monsters with. I felt sick. I barely moved at from the corner that day,, going over everything in my mind a thousand times until the light began to fade slowly. I heard footsteps outside the cave. I looked up. It was Luke.

"Have you come to ask me to join you? It won't happen, Luke." I spat at him.

"Annabeth, why do you care about the gods so much?" he asked, sounding genuinely interested. He casually leaned against the bars, as if we were two normal people having a perfectly normal conversation. I stood up and walked towards the bars, glaring at him.

"Why do you care about the titans so much?" I growled, my face inches from his.

"Name _one_time the gods helped you when you were _seven _years old and living in the _streets_!" Luke began to pace, his voice rising to a shout, "Not once! They didn't even take pity on a little 7-year-old demigod, they left you to fend for yourself, living in a dumpster with nothing but a hammer to protect yourself with! Your own _mother _never lifted a finger! How does that _feel_, Annabeth? Don't you want to _do _something about it!?" His ocean-blue eyes flared with anger.

"You heard Atlas! He said that if his plan works, the lives of all mortals will be meaningless! Do you think that somehow you won't be included in that?" I shouted at him. My thoughts were reeling. I couldn't believe that Luke genuinely thought he was better off siding with the monsters and titans. I knew he was holding a grudge against his father for leaving him alone with his mentally disturbed mother but, I just couldn't see how he could have so much hate stored inside him to want to torture his own father for all eternity.

"I can't believe you, Annabeth!" Luke shouted. "After all you've been through and you're still siding with the gods! I just saved your _life _two nights ago! You should be-"

"Saved my _LIFE_?" I screamed at him. "Look at me, Luke! Do I look _saved _to you? Here I am, locked in a cave, while you're out there with your monster friends torturing a goddess and luring my friends into a trap, and after all that, you're just going to kill me in a few days anyway. You call that _saving _me?"

Then Luke did something that took me by complete surprise, he reached his hand through the bars and slapped my face, the impact throwing me to the rocky ground. I turned to gape at him in surprise, my hand flying to my cheek. He just shook his head and walked away, leaving me on the ground, staring at the spot he'd stood a moment ago. My cheek began to throb where he'd slapped me, my fingers traced the area, right over my cheekbone, and I could feel the bruise forming.

_Two nights ago_, he'd said. So I'd been out for an entire day... That meant that there were only three days until the winter solstice, the deadline for Percy's quest, no doubt- Artemis was required to be at the council of the gods. I had to do something to stop them falling into Atlas's trap. A wild idea suddenly flickered into my mind. It would be extremely risky, and I could get killed, but they were going to kill me on Friday even if I didn't try. I felt my heart flutter in anticipation. Tomorrow, I was going to escape.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

When I woke, it was still dark. My plan was simple, but with luck, it could work as well as any complex one. I waited for sunrise, going over what I was about to do again and again. Truthfully, though, I knew I had nothing to lose and everything to gain. I tried to calm my nerves—a pounding heart wouldn't be any help. Ever so slowly, the sun inched its way over the horizon, seeming to take forever. I waited in total silence, sitting on the ground, unmoving. I sat so long, my legs started to cramp. But I ignored it, I had to wait in complete silence. Finally, after what felt like several hours, I heard the slithering.

I quickly got into position, sprawling myself dramatically across the cave floor, my fingers curling tightly around the long, bronze knife concealed up my sleeve. I tried to relax. I closed my eyes and, as the slithering grew closer, began to breathe shallowly and silently, trying desperately to keep my chest from rising and falling normally. I wasn't getting nearly enough air, but I reminded myself I only had to keep it up for a short time. I almost flinched at the telltale, ear-splitting CLANK of the door slamming open, but caught myself and willed my body to stay painfully still.

_What issss thissssssssss? _rasped one of the two _dracaenae _whom I supposed had just entered my prison. _Why doessss ssshe sssssleep?_

_Sssshe doessss not sssssleep. _hissed the other, _Watch her closssssely; sssshe doesssss not breathe. _I held my breath to stop any tiny motions that my shallow breathing would have caused. My heart pounded furiously, I was sure the _dracaenae _could hear it loud and clear, but to my relief, they didn't seem to notice.

They advanced slowly, the sound of scales scraping against rock becoming louder and louder, until it was so close that I felt the vibrations in my skull. My mind was racing, I risked a quick breath. The first _dracaena _coiled her tails, bending over me. Just as I felt her cold, reptilian breath on my face, I snapped my eyes open, slashing my knife in a wide arc in her direction. I saw the look of utter shock in her horrible, slit-pupiled snake eyes, before she disintegrated into a heap of dust.

Before the second one could get over her initial shock, I was on my feet, brandishing my knife. She smiled, showing pointed teeth. We circled the cave, the snake woman clutching her long spear.

_What a nasssssty little trick._She hissed threateningly, _Too bad you can't trick me, you'll be dead in a few short minutes!_She leapt at me with surprising agility, launching herself from the tips of her twin snake trunks. I reacted quickly, but not quite in time. I took a distracted swipe at her, but she landed hard on top of me, knocking the blade out of my hands with the butt of her spear, sending it skittering away, just out of reach. Gasping, I stretched out my fingers, trying desperately to grasp the hilt of the knife, but the _dracaena_ knocked it even further away, and had begun to coil her snake tails, binding my wrists in scaly flesh and pressing them to the cave floor above my head.

_You, half-blood, are sssso much more trouble than you're worth _she whispered. The knife was inches from my right foot, I slowly slipped it out of its shoe, moving it, inch by inch, towards the long, gleaming blade. _I think I'll dissssspossse of you now!_Just a little farther! She unsheathed a tiny dagger at her belt, and held the cold blade against my throat, savoring the moment. Finally reaching it, I clutched my knife between my first and second toes. I felt her slowly pushing on the dagger now, beginning to cut off my airway, I could feel a thin cut beginning to appear on my neck.

_Die, child of Athena!_she shrieked. I screamed and kicked upwards with all my might, plunging the knife into the back of her skull. She screamed as she transformed into a million bits of dust, her blade clattering to the ground. I gasped and picked myself up, trembling. That had been _way _too close, my hand flew to my throat, where the dagger had been pressed moments before. I shook my head. I had just killed a monster with my feet.

I picked up my knife and brushed the monster dust off my sweatshirt. Though a bit rough, my plan had actually worked! The door was wide open, I bolted out. The mountain air was cool on my skin, I pulled my thin sweater tighter, glad to have it. The weather in San Francisco was usually fairly warm in the winter, but it was much cooler on the mountain. I was standing on a narrow ledge outside the cave. Gripping the bars for support, I leaned over the edge to have a look. The drop was steep and the bottom was covered in jagged rock. I caught my breath, pulling myself back up and pressing myself against the mountain. That was very far down. I began to follow the ledge.

Soon enough, It began to slant upwards and widen into a path of sorts, I could hear a faint hissing noise. I shrank against the wall, hoping that it wasn't another _dracaena _coming to see why the others hadn't returned. I stood there, taking shaky breaths for several minutes, gripping my knife. If anything came around the corner, there was no cover, I either had to kill, or send myself hurtling over the edge of the cliff. Nobody came, so I rounded the corner.

I immediately wished I hadn't. I found myself only feet away from an open doorway. The ancient Greek writing etched into the door frame read, "Monsters' Quarters," and just through the wooden frame, two pairs of _dracaenae _eyes were glaring at me in surprise. I didn't give them long enough to ponder what I was doing. I fled, their hisses of, _The girl issss free! _and, _Notify Masssssster Luke!_following me down the mountain.

I scrambled down, tiny rocks breaking free and cascading over the rocky ledges. I heard shouting behind me. A wave of panic hit me; they were after me. The shouting was drawing nearer, I turned onto a narrow ledge and began to edge sideways. I had a good head start, but they were gaining. They had reached the ledge and were following, single file, Luke in the lead. My heart pounded. The ledge was widening, I began to sprint. They were right on my tail, I could hear Luke breathing heavily, only a few feet back..

I rounded a bend and my mind didn't register the cliff's edge until I was skidding over it. The thin rock crumbled under my weight. But before the scream had even left my mouth, a rough hand closed around my wrist, nearly jerking my arm out of its socket, but effectively cutting off my fall. Luke pulled me back up to solid ground. The second my feet were planted, the point of his knife was at my throat.

"I knew you would run, Annabeth." said Luke simply. "Put her in chains," His eyes fluttered absently to my sweater sleeve. "and disarm her, if you would." he added.

"She's more trouble than she's worth, Luke," spat what I recognized to be an empousa, "Why can't we just kill her now and get it over with?" I considered running, but I was completely surrounded by monsters.

"The General told us to keep her captive, not kill her." Luke replied. "Take her back to the cave."

My knife was torn from its small sheath that I kept strapped to my left wrist, and my arms were grabbed roughly by a cyclops and pinned behind me. I felt the cold steel cuffs tighten on my wrists ("No need celestial bronze for you, half-blood!" the cyclops grinned), and I was half escorted, half dragged back to the cave. When the heavy door slammed shut, any sliver of hope I might have had left was destroyed. I let it sink in. I was going to die in two days, and I knew nothing could stop it.


End file.
